Need help organizing my sorority

[OPhiAGinger]

Can you describe the structure of your rush events? How do PNMs hear about you, since you are not recognized? Where have you been having events? How formal are they? Do all PNMs come to all events, or do you selectively invite only the ones you are most interested in having as members?

And, another track, what are your requirements of your members once they are in?

[GammaDelt]

Originally Posted by OPhiAGinger

Can you describe the structure of your rush events? How do PNMs hear about you, since you are not recognized? Where have you been having events? How formal are they? Do all PNMs come to all events, or do you selectively invite only the ones you are most interested in having as members?

And, another track, what are your requirements of your members once they are in?

We advertise with flyers in all the dorm bathrooms on campus, and facebook events. anyone is welcome to come to any of the rush events - we keep these 6 open in case someone who is interested in pledging can't make it to some of them. Unfortunately, this allows for anyone to come to the events, which means we get alot of girls who just come for the alcohol. I am totally aware this is a good reason why our membership is down - alot of girls are driven away by the partiers that come to Rush, but most of my sisters are adamant about having alcohol - so any suggestions on how to avoid this would be great.
We structure our Rush over a period of 2 weeks, with 6 events, 3 events a week. Our events are generally just a social, like Cosmos and Sex and the City ( i know - we should not have alcohol at our rush events because it gives the wrong idea, but most of the sisters insist because they feel like no one will come if we don't have it.) Anyway, we have 2 wine and cheese meet and greets, two other events like cosmos and sex and the city, or champagne and charades, plus a frat party each week. This year, we had all our rush events in an apartment where 4 senior members lived. Our events are not too formal - their is a brief informational section in the beginning, and the rest if getting to know us. After Rush, we blackball/give bids, invite our bids to invitational where they fill our a questionnaire on why they want to join the sorority, and then we invite those girls who we feel want to pledge for the right reasons to Acceptance night. The pledging.

Unfortunately, as we're losing our house this year bc the seniors are graduating, we are running into a problem for rush. We are either going to try and co-rush with the (one) frat on campus, and if that doesn't work out, we're going to have off campus rush events like bowling. The co-rush with the frat could be a bad idea, though, because that's, again, drawing girls in may think our sorority is only about drinking.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by GammaDelt

We advertise with flyers in all the dorm bathrooms on campus, and facebook events. anyone is welcome to come to any of the rush events - we keep these 6 open in case someone who is interested in pledging can't make it to some of them. Unfortunately, this allows for anyone to come to the events, which means we get alot of girls who just come for the alcohol. I am totally aware this is a good reason why our membership is down - alot of girls are driven away by the partiers that come to Rush, but most of my sisters are adamant about having alcohol - so any suggestions on how to avoid this would be great.
We structure our Rush over a period of 2 weeks, with 6 events, 3 events a week. Our events are generally just a social, like Cosmos and Sex and the City ( i know - we should not have alcohol at our rush events because it gives the wrong idea, but most of the sisters insist because they feel like no one will come if we don't have it.) Anyway, we have 2 wine and cheese meet and greets, two other events like cosmos and sex and the city, or champagne and charades, plus a frat party each week. This year, we had all our rush events in an apartment where 4 senior members lived. Our events are not too formal - their is a brief informational section in the beginning, and the rest if getting to know us. After Rush, we blackball/give bids, invite our bids to invitational where they fill our a questionnaire on why they want to join the sorority, and then we invite those girls who we feel want to pledge for the right reasons to Acceptance night. The pledging.

Unfortunately, as we're losing our house this year bc the seniors are graduating, we are running into a problem for rush. We are either going to try and co-rush with the (one) frat on campus, and if that doesn't work out, we're going to have off campus rush events like bowling. The co-rush with the frat could be a bad idea, though, because that's, again, drawing girls in may think our sorority is only about drinking.

1. Alcohol at rush?

People keep telling you, and you keep saying that the sisters would not allow it, but you really have to take alcohol out of the equation. That alone might help you out.

If you need a good reason to go "dry", how about risk management issues? I am going to guess that you do not have insurance. If someone attends a group-sponsored "rush" event, they drink, and something happens, who is responsible?

2. Have at least one rush event on campus, if only to show that you are a "real" group. That is a great way to take alcohol out of the equation as well, bc you probably aren't allowed to bring alcohol to conference or class rooms. I know that I would be wary to go to an off-campus apartment... it's kind of isolating to do so. Plus, you run the risk of drunk driving going back and forth.

3. Events like "Sex and the City - I am guessing you watch the show during your event - don't allow for PNMs and sisters to get to know each other. Watching television doesn't really allow people to mingle. You can do informal events but you have to have some sort of structure in terms of keeping track of who came to which events, etc.

4. When you say "blackball", do you mean that you are not extending a bid, or does it mean something more? That term is pretty antiquated and very negative. How do you handle telling women that they are not invited to pledge?

5. Take the "frat" out of your events. If you are a sisterhood, then keep your recruitment events strictly women only. I cannot imagine being able to get to know sisters when the PNMs are probably more interested in hanging out with the men.

Lastly, I would try to be more open to the many suggestions people have shared. People here have been through recruitment on either side, and many here are very experienced. Some have been members of struggling chapters, others in very strong chapters. Why not benefit from others' experiences instead of shooting down their suggestions?

Best of luck.

[WannaB3]

Hello,

I am startng an interest group for a national organization that I'm hoping to bring to my school. I encountered some of the same issues with member retention because I had no membership process and jut let anyone who wanted to join. Now, I have a process that is 3-5 weeks long. It include, a social, a week of events that have to do with our organization's principles..we had our first event today which was the principle of Friendship..we had a Brunch by the pool, everyone brought food, and since it is Mom's day some ladies brought their mom. There was no alcohol and we had a good time just bonding and getting to know each other.

events later this week include a tour of a local historic district, a leadership development workshop, a time management workshop, group study hours, and a community service event. All alcohol and party free, BUT pnm's and members are still with each other learning about each other and pnm's see what it will take to be in the organization. Also it gives me time to evaluate the girls that say they want to join, I have already had 2 drop and that helps me know the process if working because I'm not asking anyone to do anything I wouldn't expect of them as a member.

So I said all that to say, that you do have to take in account the advice of people here. If you want to have more interest, you will have to give people something to be interested in, from what you have said here your interests are alcohol, parties, and frats. The first thing I asked all interest when they came to their first informational (which is also a required part of the process) was Why they were interested in joining. If they couldn't give me a clear cut answer or said something like "oh my friend told me about it" I was a little weary about it. I know I have worked hard to let our principles and purpose be known when I advertise for interest and I want women who identify with that.

Meetings should follow Robert's Rules of Order. period. The fact that your chapter doesn't have a organize way of running meeting suggests that leadership somewhere down the line has dropped the ball in training new pledges. I would think Robert's Rules is one of the first things you pick up as a new member of any successful GLO.

I don't thnk having a house has anything to do with anythng. Many organization (non-NPC) do not have houses and have dozens of interests each semester. It's all about public relations and not just having the parts that make up a sorority.

Lastly, why do you feel you need to rewrite the constitution. That is a VERY big decision as you are really altering the guideline of the entire organization. It shouldn't be done without a damn near unanimous vote and a very good reason...even then it should be completely rewritten just amended where necessary.

Now I am not in any sorority, never been through Rush or pledging, I've been in interest group for a non-npc organization and now I am trying to start this colony, so you feel the way you want about my advice. But I think if you even bothered to try some of these suggestions you might see results. When I asked for advice here and I got suggestions and many were things I had realized on my own so I knew I was on the right track. Furthermore I took an elective class in Organizational Theory, class was mad boring sometimes, but very helpful for the most part. Might not be bad idea to take a similar class if it's offered at your school.

Good Luck

WannaB3

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by WannaB3

Hello,

I am startng an interest group for a national organization that I'm hoping to bring to my school. I encountered some of the same issues with member retention because I had no membership process and jut let anyone who wanted to join. Now, I have a process that is 3-5 weeks long. It include, a social, a week of events that have to do with our organization's principles..we had our first event today which was the principle of Friendship..we had a Brunch by the pool, everyone brought food, and since it is Mom's day some ladies brought their mom. There was no alcohol and we had a good time just bonding and getting to know each other.

events later this week include a tour of a local historic district, a leadership development workshop, a time management workshop, group study hours, and a community service event. All alcohol and party free, BUT pnm's and members are still with each other learning about each other and pnm's see what it will take to be in the organization. Also it gives me time to evaluate the girls that say they want to join, I have already had 2 drop and that helps me know the process if working because I'm not asking anyone to do anything I wouldn't expect of them as a member.

So I said all that to say, that you do have to take in account the advice of people here. If you want to have more interest, you will have to give people something to be interested in, from what you have said here your interests are alcohol, parties, and frats. The first thing I asked all interest when they came to their first informational (which is also a required part of the process) was Why they were interested in joining. If they couldn't give me a clear cut answer or said something like "oh my friend told me about it" I was a little weary about it. I know I have worked hard to let our principles and purpose be known when I advertise for interest and I want women who identify with that.

Meetings should follow Robert's Rules of Order. period. The fact that your chapter doesn't have a organize way of running meeting suggests that leadership somewhere down the line has dropped the ball in training new pledges. I would think Robert's Rules is one of the first things you pick up as a new member of any successful GLO.

I don't thnk having a house has anything to do with anythng. Many organization (non-NPC) do not have houses and have dozens of interests each semester. It's all about public relations and not just having the parts that make up a sorority.

Lastly, why do you feel you need to rewrite the constitution. That is a VERY big decision as you are really altering the guideline of the entire organization. It shouldn't be done without a damn near unanimous vote and a very good reason...even then it should be completely rewritten just amended where necessary.

Now I am not in any sorority, never been through Rush or pledging, I've been in interest group for a non-npc organization and now I am trying to start this colony, so you feel the way you want about my advice. But I think if you even bothered to try some of these suggestions you might see results. When I asked for advice here and I got suggestions and many were things I had realized on my own so I knew I was on the right track. Furthermore I took an elective class in Organizational Theory, class was mad boring sometimes, but very helpful for the most part. Might not be bad idea to take a similar class if it's offered at your school.

Good Luck

WannaB3

Do you have the blessing of the national organization to have such an interest group and to put interested persons thru any kind of process and to host any activities?

[WannaB3]

I sent you a PM message

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by WannaB3

Now I am not in any sorority, never been through Rush or pledging.

So you're not actually in a sorority, but you're giving advice about running one?